The goals of Cover Cafe's annual contest are simple.  The contest is all about showcasing excellent romance book covers, encouraging publishers to produce quality covers, and finally, calling them out when their covers miss the mark by a mile or even two.  One of the enduring hallmarks of the contest is requiring that nominated covers be from the romance genre.  

Unfortunately, I often see covers that I can't nominate for the contest because they do not meet our romance criteria.  To solve this issue, I've decided to use the Dear Publisher Blog blog and showcase covers throughout the year.  Covers that don't meet our romance guidelines but deserve a special shout out. The first edition of NQR focuses on mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction.  Future blogs will feature other genres i.e women's fiction, poetry, Chick Lit, and even Sci Fi.

First up for discussion are cozy mysteries.  I adore their tongue in cheek titles and the covers are endearing but they rarely contain enough romance to qualify for the contest. Pets always seem to appear somewhere on the covers and they are adorable but they are not quite romance.

Then there are the drop dead gorgeous landscape covers. They create an ominous, mysterious feeling even before you read the first line.  They are terrific but they are not quite romance either.

And finally, there are the historical mysteries with often exquisite covers. They are breathtaking and beautiful, but they are still not quite romance.

Because the covers are almost impossible to resist, I've added several of the above mysteries to my "Wish List".  How about you?   Have you seen any "Not Quite Romance" covers that deserve a shout out?

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